


A Safe Place

by FlyRobinFly



Series: TheoRaekenWeek [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Child Abuse, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Good Theo Raeken, Hurt, Hurt/Comfort, Insecure Theo Raeken, Liam saves Theo, M/M, Physical Abuse, Poor Theon, Protective Liam, Theo Raeken Week 2018, boys wearing makeup
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-19
Packaged: 2019-08-26 01:20:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16672048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyRobinFly/pseuds/FlyRobinFly
Summary: Liam learns that Theo's father is an abusive bastard and takes it upon himself to become his only friend, his support system. Liam knows what it's like; he's been through the same thing. Will Liam's home become Theo's safe place?





	A Safe Place

**Author's Note:**

> So I kinda have their POVs switching back and forth throughout the story. I hope it doesn't make it too confusing and that you enjoy it!

Theo stared at the paper on his desk. There was a big fat ‘B’ scribbled on the top in red marker. He didn’t understand why he got a ‘B’. He’d worked so hard on that paper. He didn’t want to bring this home to his dad.

After class, he approached his teacher nervously asking what he’d done wrong. She told him that he misunderstood the assignment. But she gave him the best grade that she could because she could tell he’d worked really hard on it. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to get a better grade for that paper but she promised there would be extra credit later on. She also informed him that he was one of the top three students on that paper so he shouldn’t be worried about receiving a ‘B’.

But, of course, he was worried about getting a ‘B’. He was supposed to get As in everything. He was not looking forward to the way his dad would react.

**~~~**

Liam was walking home from school. He knew it was Theo who was a few yards in front of him. They’d never really talked much. But Liam knew who he was and he knew where he lived because they walked the same route home everyday. Theo was usually a couple hundred feet ahead of him though.

Today he seemed to be walking kinda slow. And when he came up to his house, he slowed even more, stopping at the walkway and looking down at a paper. Theo boy startled when the screen door hit the side of his house.

“Boy, come here. Let me see it,” the man said. He had a disgusting beard and greasy hair that looked darker than it probably was from all the dirt in it. Liam could smell the stench of beer from where he was at as he started to near the approaching house.

Theo walked up the stairs to the beat up dump that was his house and handed the paper to his father.

“What’s this?” the man asked taking a drag from his cigarette. Theo gave a tentative shrug only earning a gentle looking shove on the shoulder. “How could you get a ‘B’ on that assignment, child? It was simple.-”

“I tried-”

“Not hard enough obviously,” the man huffed sticking the paper with the butt of his cigarette, lighting it on fire.

“I worked hard on that-”

“Next time you better get an A-”

“I was in the top three out my whole class!-”

“Don’t interrupt me, son,” he silenced the boy. “You telling me that there are actually kids at the school that are stupider than you? I don’t believe that. You’re pulling a bunch of shit.”

Liam felt horrible for witnessing that moment. It wasn’t something people were supposed to see, a child being reprimanded for not being good enough. The part that confused Liam though was that Theo was actually one of the smartest kids at school. Maybe his dad was just motivating-

“You!”

Shit. Don’t pull me into this. Liam slowed to a stop at the front of the house and gave the man a confused look.

“Yeah. You,” he said. “Are there really kids stupider than this piece a shit at your school?”

Liam opened his mouth to say something but the words caught in his mouth. Well, yeah. Of course there were kids stupider. Hell, Liam was stupider than Theo. But he didn’t want to humor this asshole.

“That’s what I thought,” the man said, slurring his speech a little bit making it clear to Liam that he was drunk which explained his assholishness a little bit. Liam startled when he heard the telltale sound of hand-on-cheek slamming together. Theo’s dad hit him. What the actual fuck? There was no way that was tough love. That was straight up abuse. “Go inside and help your sister with the dishes, you worthless-” The man stopped mid sentence to glare at Liam. “What are you looking at? Get the hell out of here! No one asked you!”

Liam’s shoulders tensed and before he knew it, he was out of there. As far as he knew, he didn’t want to be anywhere near some drunk asshole of a father again. He knew what that was like and he didn’t need to relive it.

**~~~**

Theo and Tara stood in the kitchen, silently washing the huge pile of dishes that their father had left for them. Tara was their father’s favorite, that much was clear. While Theo was forced to do the butt of the household chores in order to avoid reprimanding, Tara was never told to do them. She just did them.

She was smarter. She was prettier. And she didn’t have to be told what to do and when. Theo didn’t understand why she still lived with them. She was eighteen. She could leave this hellhole and be free of all the pain and suffering their father bestowed upon them.

Maybe she liked seeing Theo suffer. Maybe she liked the way their father treated them. Theo didn’t understand it. But he knew he would take the first opportunity there was to get out. But he was only sixteen. He had just over a year until he would be able to run for the hills and search for something that made him happy.

Theo didn’t waste time in trying to get the dishes done. He knew he had loads of homework to do and he would have to put in his best effort to get 100% on everything in order to try and make it up to his father.

After four hours of slaving away at his homework and studying, Tara knocked on his door and walked in. “Hey, curfew is in ten. Thought I’d let you know.”

Theo sighed and started packing up his homework. He looked up at his sister with a kind smile. “Thanks.”

She walked in and sat next to him on the bed. “Just so you know… I’m proud of you for getting top three.”

Theo stopped his frantic movements to get his stuff put in his backpack and looked up at his sister again. She had a soft expression, one that always put him at ease. Sometimes, he just felt so stressed out about everything he had to do for school and their father that he couldn’t catch a break. But when his sister took the time to tell him something like that, all the horrible things he had to deal with seemed to not matter.

He smiled. “Thanks.” He felt an overwhelming wave of peace wash over him when she gave him and hug and a kiss on his forehead.

“You’re almost done with school, Theo,” she told him. “Once that happens, we can get out of here. Alright?”

Theo nodded silently. Sometimes he forgot that she stayed for him. But just the thought made him feel like maybe he wasn’t as worthless as his father made him feel. He had someone who saw something inside of him that no one else did. “Night, Sis.”

**~~~**

Liam laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. It was almost midnight and he couldn’t sleep. He kept thinking about what had happened that day. He couldn’t forget anything. Every little thing had him hating himself.

He remembered retreating from the scene without a second though. Yeah. He didn’t want to be there. He’d been there before and it wasn’t pretty. It was scary and lonely and he just wanted to be home with his parents who loved him, not some drunk bastard who hated his kid.

But laying in bed, hours later, he was filled with guilt. How could he just leave Theo there? Theo was definitely scared and feeling like shit. And Liam just left him there because he wanted to get away from it.

He fucking hated himself for it. Theo was probably so lonely and… thinking about it, Liam couldn’t think of the boy having any friends. He was probably too worried about getting good grades in school to care about having friends. But Liam knew that having a friend was so worth it. It made all the beatings, the yelling, the abuse bearable.

He had to do make friends with Theo.

**~~~**

Theo stood in front of the bathroom mirror, glaring at the bruises that were forming on his face. In the middle of the night, his father had gotten angry and barged into his room to beat him. Theo didn’t understand why his father felt like he needed to beat him, but it probably had something to do with him being worthless and not as good as Tara.

Speaking of Tara…

“Don’t worry,” she said opening one of the bathroom drawers and pulling out some make up. “I got you, baby brother.”

Theo stood facing her, letting her coat his bruises with her makeup. He actually liked it when she would have to do this. He didn’t like why she had to. But he liked her being close and take care of him. And he kinda liked the way the makeup itself made him feel. If he could, he would wear it everyday just to feel like he was pretty, like his sister.

But he knew if he did that, his father would just find more ways to ridicule him. His father would be so pissed if he knew Tara put makeup on him. If he weren’t such a drunk idiot, he’d wonder where the hell the bruises he always gave him were but… he was a drunk idiot and he probably didn’t even realize he left bruises.

**~~~**

“Hey, Theo,” Liam said approaching the boy from behind causing him to jump. He probably should have approached from the other direction. He mentally smacked himself for being so inconsiderate.

Theo’s eyes bugged out when he saw Liam, backing away. “Uh… hey. I’m sorry about yesterday-”

“It’s fine,” said Liam. “No worries. I just… wanted to ask if you could help me out with my Biology homework. I know you’re super smart and I think that’s cool.”

Liam kinda felt weird for saying ‘I think that’s cool’. Like he wasn’t trying to seem insincere. But it kinda played out that way. But he could see the contemplation on Theo’s face. Like maybe he was deciding he was worth something after all. Liam knew that feeling.

“We could meet after school and I could help you out with your history homework,” Liam offered. “My house is just a block away from yours.”

“Um…” Liam knew Theo was worried about how his dad would react to going to someone else’s house after school. It was understandable. “I don’t-”

“I’ll walk home with you and talk to your dad about it,” Liam said. He didn’t mean to but he gave Theo a knowing looking, one that said he’d been in his shoes before.

Theo seemed to furrow his brows, looking away. Of course, he would try and put up some semblance of an emotional barrier to protect himself. Liam didn’t blame him. He would too. “Sorry. I don’t think-”

“Meet me in the locker room after sixth period,” said Liam. “I am having a hard time understanding the difference between meiosis and mitosis.”

As Liam started to walk away to his next class, he saw the look of uncertainty on his face but only offered him a kind smile before he left.

**~~~**

Theo stood outside the locker room. His dad was going to be pissed for not talking to him about it first. But Liam had seen what happened the day before, something that happened to him on a regular basis in the privacy of his hellhole of a home.

And Liam seemed nice…

He walked in and was met with the site of about a dozen half naked guys with six packs and… lots of steam and sweat. His heart rate started to elevate when he remembered that he was a closeted gay teen who was doing everything in his power to be something his father wouldn’t want to hit or yell at. But there was no way he could deny being attracted to the LaCrosse team. Everyone was just so damn…

“Hey, Theo. You made it,” Liam called his attention and waved him over. Theo tried to maintain eye contact but Liam was… ripped to say the least. And sweaty. And just so… “I’m gonna hit the showers so if you want you can sit on a bench and wait.”

Theo’s mind was suddenly in the gutter at the thought of Liam showering. That meant he was going to be-

Liam stripped off his shorts, boxers, everything before he wandered over to the shower and turned it on. Liam was naked and Theo was watching him shower. This was so not good for him. How was he going to explain to his dad that he was getting home late because he was watching the hottest guy Theo had ever seen shower in the locker room.

**~~~**

Liam tried to get Theo to talk on the way home but he didn’t seem like he wanted to. Or… maybe he did but… he just didn’t know how. Every time Liam asked him a question he would mumble or make awkward gestures and… he knew it was cute but it worried him. Like maybe Theo was afraid of him or just really nervous about what his father would do to him.

Theo’s father was waiting for them in the drive, smoking a cigarette. Liam heard Theo take at least three deep breaths as they were approaching him. It made him a little angry that this asshole of a drunk could do something to someone so…

OK. So he didn’t really know Theo that well but Theo was something for sure. He knew that. He just needed to get Theo to trust him to show what he had. He probably had lots.

“What the hell are you-”

“I’m helping him with his history homework, sir,” Liam said before the man could say anything detrimental. “I live just down the block.”

The man gave Liam a skeptical once over before he shrugged him off. “Serves me. I don’t have to deal with this load. Keep him ‘til your heart's content but if he’s not back by curfew he’s fixed for some trouble.”

“Yeah, sure,” Liam said grabbing Theo by the arm and walking him away from his house. As they passed, he could see a girl wave at Theo in the window with a smile on her face.

**~~~**

Theo felt so weird being in a house that didn’t reek of stale beer and cigarettes. It made him self conscious about how his clothes must’ve smelt all the time. But it also made a bit of nausea that he didn’t know he’d been feeling go away.

It was quite refreshing being around Liam and his parents. They actually smiled and told each other they loved each other. And Liam’s parents actually cooked for them. That was new. Theo couldn’t remember a time when he and Tara didn’t have to fend for themselves while their dad just lived off of beer and french fries.

No one questioned him when he ate two portions of his food in less time than they all ate half of their own. With Liam’s help, he was actually able to get his history homework done faster than normal. And he kinda had fun helping Liam with Biology.

After dinner, Theo was actually left with nothing to do. He wondered if he was supposed to head home or if he could stay until if was almost curfew. He didn’t have to ask when Liam pulled him up to his room and started up his video game console. Liam had to teach Theo how to play cause he’d never really done it before. Theo got frustrated a few times but then he realized that it was just a game and it wasn’t a big deal if he lost or messed up, a good change from what he was used to.

After they played for a while, Theo warned Liam his curfew would be soon and Liam turned it off.

**~~~**

“Hey, so I wanted to talk to you,” Liam said.

Theo sat on the floor facing Liam, hugging his knee. He looked Liam in the eye as if he wondered what it could be.

“I-uh… I know what it’s like,” Liam said. He wasn’t sure he could really express what he meant to say. But he hoped Theo would be understanding and… open. Liam really just wanted to help.

He got nervous when Theo stared at the floor, picking at his lint covered socks that Liam wasn’t going to complain about the smell of. Maybe he shouldn’t have done this. It was obviously private and maybe Theo would just think he was being manipulative. “I know,” Theo said instead.

Liam kinda relaxed at that. “You… know?”

Theo nodded and looked back up at him. “I could tell by the way you ran off after my dad yelled at you. It’s happened to you before, hasn’t it?”

Liam nodded slowly. “Yeah. My biological father was a drunken asshole too. Beat me and my mom all the time. I guess I… panicked when I saw it happening to you because I knew exactly what it felt like and I didn’t want to be anywhere near it. But then… I remembered how horrible it was being all alone and how much better it was once I got a friend.”

Theo rested his chin on his knee, looking at Liam curiously. “How did you let yourself trust your new dad?”

Liam shrugged. “It wasn’t easy but him teaching me how to play LaCrosse helped us bond and… now I can’t imagine my life without him.” He hardly knew Theo but he was sharing extremely personal things with him. He needed Theo to know he wasn’t alone.

Theo’s eyes wandered to the floor. He was obviously thinking about something. Liam let him. No need to push him anymore than he had done already today. “Can you teach me LaCrosse?”

**~~~**

Theo was on the LaCrosse field holding standing a few yards away from Liam. Liam had tossed the ball to him a few times and… well, he hadn’t done so well so far. Liam must’ve noticed the way it was stressing him out and making him nervous because he threw the ball at his arm.

Theo looked at Liam confused, like maybe he’d done something wrong. But Liam had a grin on his face.

Play. Liam was playing. Theo was playing with Liam. It was just for fun. Theo smiled and threw the LaCrosse stick off to the side and dove for the ball. He could play.

Theo threw the ball at Liam, hitting him in the calf and then tackling him to the ground. He didn’t really know where the desire to do that came from but it made him feel good. And happy.

Theo did something he hadn’t done… well, ever as far as he could remember. He actually laughed. Liam made him laugh. Liam made him happy. Liam gave him a safe place to go after school. Liam gave him someone to lean on.

**~~~**

Liam had been teaching Theo how to play LaCrosse for the last two weeks after school. They’d make sure they both finished their homework and then they would go out to the field and play. One day, they had both ventured into the woods adjacent to the field and fell in a mud puddle caking the both of them with dirt.

When Theo didn’t take off his clothes or get in the shower, Liam didn’t question him. He didn’t want to bug him about it. There was obviously a reason he didn’t do it. But he was rinsing off his shoes under the water stream when Liam was peeling off his mud caked shirt.

Theo slipped and landed on the shower floor hard, knocking his head against the tile. Liam rushed over to where Theo had fallen under the spray hoping he hadn’t fallen unconscious. “You OK?”

Theo sat up, hurriedly trying to get out from under the water like he was allergic to it or something. “Yeah. I’m good. I just uh… slipped. I’m fine.”

But Liam noticed the way Theo was hiding his face, letting his now wet hair flop over it like it was a curtain. “Hey…” Liam said reaching his hand for Theo’s face slowly, pulling it up by the chin to have him look him in the eyes.

When Theo finally looked up at him, there were tears in his eyes. Liam would let Theo pass them off as water droplets from the shower if he wanted. But he wouldn’t let Theo lie about the bruises that had suddenly appeared on his cheekbones and eyes. Liam grantly brushed at Theo’s face, happy when Theo let him wipe all the makeup off. It meant Theo trusted him, right?

“He’s been hitting you, hasn’t he?”

Theo shrugged. “He always does. It’s nothing new.”

Liam could feel the water seeping through his clothes but he didn’t care. He just wiped kept brushing the little traces of makeup from Theo’s face. It broke his heart to see the bruises there. “I don’t get it,” said Liam brushing back Theo bangs.

“...get what?” Theo whispered tentatively.

Liam kinda just shrugged, admiring all the features on the boy he was with. “How could he want to hurt someone so beautiful?”

**~~~**

Theo couldn’t register what had been said to him. Beautiful. He was beautiful? No. That wasn’t right. He was worthless. He was stupid. Liam had to be lying. He had to be.

Theo’s thoughts were silenced when they looked at each other. Liam’s hand was still brushing back his bangs, touching his bruises carefully to whip the makeup away like it was dirt. When did their faces get so close? Theo could feel Liam’s breath on his lips.

He’d forgotten about his embarrassment over being a boy wearing makeup and all the water soaking into his clothes. All he noticed was the way Liam looked at him, eyes searching his sole… and his lips. Liam looked at his lips. And then Theo… Theo looked at Liam’s lips.

He’d never kissed anyone before. He’d had dreams about it, about a boy saving him from his nightmare of a life and kissing him. Like… like Liam was doing.

Liam blinked and cleared his throat. “Um… can I…” Liam seemed nervous now, like maybe he was afraid of kissing him. It was probably because he was a boy. And he had just been wearing makeup. Liam was on the LaCrosse team after all. Why would he want to get that kind of reputation?

But the words Liam asked, threw any allusions he’d come up with out the window. “Can I kiss you?” he asked barely above a whisper, barely audible, tentative and shy. Theo hadn’t really known Liam to be shy but… here he was.

He needed to answer.

All he could manage was a whisper.

“Yes.”

**~~~**

The kiss was sweet, and slow. Liam had never thought he’d find himself in this position. Kissing another boy on the floor of the locker room shower, covered in mud and makeup. But he’s not upset about it. Not at all.

Sure, some of the LaCrosse players would give him crap about dating another guy but it didn’t matter. He’d get to help Theo. And he knew that all the people that really mattered would be happy for him. Especially his parents. As he kissed Theo he fantasized about all the things that would happen because of this. His dreams were cut short when Theo pulled away.

“We can’t tell anyone,” Theo said, panic evident in his voice.

“Theo-”

“My dad can’t know,” Theo said. “He’d be so upset. He can’t know that I like boys or-or that I wear makeup even if it’s just to cover up the bruises that he gives me-”

“Hey-”

“No, Liam. You don’t understand,” Theo said voice trembling as he stood up. “He’s already mad enough that I spend all my time with you. I don’t want to know what would happen if he found out we… that we…”

“That we kissed?” Liam asked, now standing in front of Theo. The other boy nodded and he smiled sadly. “Theo, we don’t have to tell him. We don’t have to tell anyone if you don’t want to. Just don’t push me away because of this, alright?”

Liam felt ridiculous for saying it but… he needed Theo to know that he was also someone with feelings that could be easily hurt. “I’m scared too, Theo… I’m afraid that-that you’re not gonna want to see me after this.”

**~~~**

Theo, for once, wasn’t worried about himself getting beaten by his dad. He was worried about what he could do to hurt Liam. And it terrified him. He didn’t want to hurt anyone. He especially didn’t want to hurt Liam. Liam had only ever been nice to him.

Theo’s feet skidded against the tile floor as he pressed himself against Liam, kissing him for the second time that night. He could do it if Liam didn’t tell anyone. As long as no one found out, he would be OK. It’s not that he was ashamed… just scared.

Theo hoped Liam understood that. Who was he kidding? Of course, Liam understood. Liam understood him better than anyone had even tried to understand him.

Theo enjoyed the way their tongues played with each other, danced with each other. The way their fingers tap danced along each other’s body before Liam was brave enough to tug at Theo’s top. Theo felt his heart rate elevating again as Liam ran his hand up and down his wet torso gripping and pulling him closer until he put his arms around his shoulders.

**~~~**

Liam had a hard time dropping Theo off at his house before they started dating, but now it was so much harder. All he really wanted to do was walk in that house and give Theo’s father a piece of his mind, maybe a few bruises of his own to cover up. But that would only make it worse, Liam knew from experience.

“So…” Liam said as they walked up the porch. It smelled of smoke, stale beer, and something else that Liam couldn’t place his finger on. He hated that Theo had to live in such a disgusting dump. He deserved a house that didn’t smell like old bastards. “I’ll see you at school.”

Theo smiled at him and rolled his shoulders back. “Yeah.-”

“Theo!” a female voice called from the other side of the house making him perk up. A girl who didn’t look very old was at the door. “Theo, the old man’s gone out of town for the weekend-” She stopped mid sentence when she saw Liam. “Well, hello. Who are you?”

Theo cleared his throat and gestured to Liam. “This is Liam, my… friend,” Theo said unsure before gesturing to the girl. “This is my sister, Tara. And, are you serious? He’s gone?”

She smiled and nodded. “Work wanted him to make a run upstate for something. Which means, we don’t have to listen to his bullshit for at least twenty four more hours-why are you soaking wet?”

Theo’s eyebrows elevated and he looked at Liam questioningly like he wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. Liam shrugged. “We fell. In mud.” Liam saw the smile on Theo’s face as they looked at each other knowingly. Theo didn’t seem to be nervous around his sister like he was with his dad.

Tara cleared her throat, eyeing the two boys suspiciously. “Mhm. I’m sure you did.”

“We did,” Liam claimed as she dragged him in the house. It’s not like he was really lying.

**~~~**

Liam didn’t stay for long. He wanted to actually get some homework finished before the weekend completely started apparently. Theo was pleased to say that he didn’t have any. He sat on the couch with Tara in front of the TV.

She was painting her fingernails a maroon red as they just enjoyed the silence. “So… Liam seems nice,” Tara said not looking up from her project.

Theo shrugged trying not to blush. “Yeah. He’s cool.”

“So… uh…” She said twisting the cap onto her nail polish and blowing. “Are you guys like… dating?”

Theo looked at her, eyes wide, almost upset. But he saw the look on her face, happiness, excitement. There was no way she’d use it against him. He just suppressed a smile and shrugged causing her to laugh.

“Did you kiss?” she asked leaning into the back of the couch and nudging their shoulders together.

Theo shrugged noncommittally. “I don’t know.” This time they both laughed, shoulders rubbing together.

“You totally kissed a boy and you liked it,” she said poking his side with a finger that he hoped was dry. “That’s good, darling. What happened to your make up? Did it come off in the mud?”

Theo nodded. “Yeah.”

“Ah. So he knows you wear makeup? And he still thinks you’re cute?”

Theo looked at her biting his lip. “He said I was beautiful.” She wrapped an around around his shoulders and squeezed them tightly. “After the make up came off.”

“Oh, high school sweethearts,” she cooed at him.

He shook his head. This was definitely not your typical high school sweetheart story. “You can’t tell dad.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it,” she said. “But it’s not going to go over well when he finds out.”

“I don’t want to think about that yet,” Theo told her.

She bobbed her head. “That’s alright. Don’t worry about it right now. Just let yourself be happy and in love. In the meantime,” she sat up and held out her nail polish. “You want me to do yours?”

Theo bit his lip to hide the smile on his face. “Tara-”

“Just let me do your toes at least,” she said shaking up the bottle. “Come on. No one will see it but Liam.” Theo didn’t say anything as Tara took off his socks and complained about how his feet stank before she started painting them making Theo giggle like the pillsbury dough boy as she tickled his feet.

**~~~**

Theo, Liam and Mason sat at the breakfast bar in the Geyer home while Jenna and David prepared dinner. Theo had recently been acquainted to Liam’s best friend Mason and they had hit it off fairly well. Liam had to explain to Theo why he had to tell Mason they were dating and everyone else just didn’t need to know yet.

It was cute, explaining to Theo that he could be seen as a potential threat to Mason if he just thought they were friends. Liam laughed when Theo apologized to Mason which only confused Theo more.

But after that, Theo and Mason were really good friends. Mason had been there for Liam when his dad was an abusive bastard. He could be there for Theo too.

Liam groaned as his parents started dancing in the kitchen. David had broken out into song while he sauteed the items on the stove. He was about to complain and beg them to stop but he saw the look on Theo’s face as he watched them.

He looked so innocent and young, like maybe he hadn’t spent his whole life living in a dump with a bastard. There was a faint smile as he watched Liam’s parents move around the kitchen, singing way out of tune, laughing. Liam bumped Theo’s shoulder to get his attention. “You want to dance?” he asked quietly.

Theo looked at Liam, the smile fading when he glanced between Liam and his parents a few times. He looked down at his hands, playing with his fingers as he shook his head.

Liam knew he was lying.

**~~~**

Theo stood in Liam’s room a few hours after dinner. He was waiting for Liam to finish his homework so they could play video games or something to pass the time. He was looking at all the things in his room, the trophies his mom made him keep, the pictures of him when he was little. He never realized he was missing out on that.

He turned his head when he heard music start to play. Liam had plugged his phone into the sound system that was in his room and was standing right in front of him offering a hand. “You want to dance, Theo?”

Theo’s heart leapt as Liam took his hand and laced their fingers together. As the music played, Liam pulled him closer, putting a careful hand on his waist. Theo had never danced before and Liam was there dancing with him like he was the only thing in the world that mattered.

“Are you wearing makeup?”

Theo opened his eyes, heart suddenly pounding. “Uh… mm…”

“Why?” Liam asked, anger evident in his voice. “Did he hurt you again?”

“No,” Theo said voice catching in his throat. “I just… I-” Liam’s hand gently caressed Theo’s face which startled him a little. “I’m sorry…”

“Shshsh,” Liam said both hands now holding Theo’s face as he pressed their foreheads together. “I’m not mad. It scared me. I thought… I thought you were covering up your bruises again. It’s OK. It’s OK. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. That was my bad. I’m sorry.”

Theo had never heard such a long string of apologies. It made him forget why he’d even panicked in the first place. Right. Cause he was wearing makeup. “You’re not mad that I wore makeup just cause… cause I wanted to?”

“Nonono,” Liam said kissing his nose. “Of course not. You can wear makeup if you want to. That doesn’t make me mad at all. It’s just… the idea of him hurting you pisses me off.”

Theo slid his arms around Liam’s torso and buried his face in his chest. “It pisses me off too.”

**~~~**

Liam sat next to Theo in their history class while they had their test and he could see the anxiousness coming off of Theo. He was sweating, shaking, fidgeting, breathing nervously. So he held his hand while they took the test. They were in the back corner so no one saw but it was still risky.

Walking home Liam thought of something. “Hey, you wanna have a sleepover?” Theo looked at him like he was crazy and he chuckled. “Relax. I think I can convince your dad. I already talked to my parents about it. They were cool with it-”

“Do they know that-”

“Not yet,” Liam said. “But they’re gonna figure it out soon. They’re not stupid like your dad.” Liam knew it wasn’t right for him to bad talk Theo’s dad like that. He was still his dad. But he really hated him for putting bruises on his baby boy. “Do you want to? I’ll talk to your dad for you.”

Liam waited for Theo to finish thinking about it. “Yeah. That would be nice. Don’t get your hopes up though.”

**~~~**

Theo couldn’t believe Liam had convinced him. But he was happy he had. He didn’t have to worry about curfew or being woken up in the middle of the night to be beaten for no reason. Not that it had happened much recently. With Liam’s help he’d done great at keeping up good grades on his schoolwork and he wasn’t at home to “bother him” as much.

Liam, however, couldn’t convince his father to let him go inside for a change of clothes so he ended up wearing Liam’s which he didn’t complain about because he thought they smelled amazing. “Come here, baby boy,” he heard Liam call from the bed.

Theo had been given a pair of boxers and a t-shirt to sleep in. The shirt was a good fit but the boxers were a little tight in the butt. When he pointed it out to Liam, Liam just smiled and grabbed his butt which he did not know what to think of.

Climbing in the bed, Theo slipped under the covers and snuggled up to Liam. “Thank you.”

He buried his nose in Liam’s chest, arms wrapped around his torso. He wondered how he came to trust him so easily, how they just seemed to fall into things like this without thinking about it. He concluded that it was because Liam made him feel like he was worth something, like he was loved and beautiful.

“I love you, baby,” Liam said causing Theo’s heart to stutter as he shifted, sitting up enough so that he could see Liam’s face. Liam told him he loved him. He loved him.

Theo tried to ignore the tears that were threatening to pour from his eyes from the confession alone. “I love you too.”

**~~~**

Theo spent the night a few times a week after that. It was just a normal occurrence. One morning, Theo and Liam were in the bathroom getting ready when Liam pinched Theo’s butt.

Theo jumped and slapped his hand away only for him to be attacked with a kiss. Liam pulled him in by the waist and started kissing his neck like it was some sort of dessert. He could tell Theo was about to push him away but then something happened and Liam was being pulled closer by the elastic of his boxers.

Liam felt his brain go fuzzy when Theo took both of his hands and placed them firmly on his ass like that’s where they were supposed to be. Liam could be fooled into thinking Theo’s ass was the permanent residence of his hands. That was until one of them made it’s way to Theo’s thigh. Those were nice thighs, thick thighs that he just couldn’t get enough of.

Suddenly, he picked Theo up and plopped him on the bathroom counter so he could wrap those thighs around him. He felt something inside his pants start to tighten when Theo moan into his mouth.

“Hey, Liam-oh.”

The boys pulled away from each other and found Liam’s mother standing in the doorway with a surprised look on her face.

**~~~**

Theo felt a familiar feeling rise in his chest, panic. He was terrified. Liam’s mother had seen them making out. She had seen Liam touching his ass and seen Theo tugging at his shirt. There was no way he could get out of this one.

She was going to tell his dad and he was going to be so upset. He was going to hit him. Maybe even she would be upset. Maybe… maybe Liam would blame him and tell him to leave. Maybe-

She would smile. She smiled. “Boys, do you know how to shut the door?”

Liam had a horrible blush on his cheeks. “Sorry, mom.”

“And, Theo,” she said causing Theo’s heart to leap in his chest. The suspension was horrible. What would she say? “Welcome to the family, sweetheart.”

Theo felt Liam’s hand on his chest as she continued walking down the hall seeming to forget why she needed to talk to Liam. Relief started to wash over him. “Baby, your heart is beating so fast.”

“It scared me,” Theo said smacking Liam’s abdomen.

Liam wrapped his arms around him and kissed his nose. “I’m sorry. You’re OK. This is a safe place, remember?”

Theo nodded. “You’re my safe place.”

**~~~**

One day, Liam was forced to run to the store to do some shopping for his mom. As he walked down the isle that he hoped was the right one, he saw a familiar face. “You’re Tara, right?”

The girl looked at Liam skeptically before her face brightened up and she smiled. “I am. And you must be Theo’s boyfriend.”

Liam’s heart stopped. “What? No-”

“Relax,” she said. “Theo tells me everything. Your secret is safe with me.”

Liam relaxed a little. He supposed Theo was close with his sister. He didn’t talk about her much. But he’d talked about her being the one who did his makeup. At first, it was only to hide the bruises but then it seemed to be a thing that they bonded over.

“So-uh. Watcha doin’?”

Tara raised an eyebrow at him. “Shopping. What are you doing?”

“...shopping.”

Tara smiled and turned back to the shelf to retrieve the items she was searching for. “Wow. Who would’ve guessed either of us would be shopping at a store?”

Liam huffed. Tara was a bit of a smartass, wasn’t she? It was a wonder that she wasn’t the one who got beaten instead of Theo. Theo was so… timid and respectful. It didn’t make sense to him. “Why is your dad such an asshole?”

She sighed. “Beats me.”

Liam rolled his eyes. “He doesn’t though. He beats Theo. Why?”

The look on Tara’s face was one of annoyance, frustration, guilt maybe. She pulled a loaf of bread off the shelf and looked at Liam. “He can get away with beating a boy easier than a girl.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Liam told her.

“So what if he takes most of his frustration out on Theo? It hurts me just as much because I have to sit by and just watch it happen-”

“You could ask for help.”

The glared she gave him was oddly terrifying and sent a wave of guilt through him. “You know, I thought for someone who’s been through this you’d be a bit more understanding.” With that she walked away leaving Liam to regret everything he’d said.

**~~~**

Theo was happy, smiling brighter than the sun as he and Liam walked around the streets eating ice cream. Occasionally, their fingers would dance with each other or their hands would find each other’s waists for a few seconds. For the first time her could remember, he felt like his life was good. No. Great.

Liam told him cute little history jokes that he didn’t understand until Liam explained them. But then he would do that adorable pillsbury doughboy giggle that was so specific to him and Liam would look at him like he was the best thing that ever happened to him.

“Thanks for taking me out,” Theo said as they started walking down their street. “I had fun.”

Liam grinned glanced around to make sure no one was looking before he placed a kiss on Theo’s forehead. “I had fun too.”

“Best study session I’ve had so far,” Theo said nudging Liam with his elbow. “Well… one of the best.”

A few minutes later, they were approaching Theo’s house. Liam would have to see him off in the driveway before he walked home. Theo didn’t want Liam to leave him there again but it’s what they had to do to hide their relationship from his dad.

They slowed to a stop in Theo’s driveway. Turning to face each other, not say anything. Just smiling sadly before Theo had to go in.

Theo didn’t want to go in. The dumpy house his father was waiting for him in wasn’t his home. He didn’t feel safe there. He didn’t feel welcome. Worst of all, he didn’t feel loved. Only by his sister who even then remained distant at times.

Theo wanted to be done with this.

“I’ll see you at school tomorrow then,” he said taking a step closer to Liam. He could hear the screen door squawk as his father step out onto the porch and he did it. He did something that would change his life forever. He grabbed Liam by his jacket, pulled him close and kissed him.

**~~~**

Liam hadn’t noticed that Theo’s father was there. He only noticed that Theo was daring enough to kiss him in front of his house. So when he heard it, he startled and pulled back.

“What the hell is going on here, boys?!”

Theo and Liam pulled away from each other, looking at the man who was covered in the stench of beer and wearing only a pair of gym shorts and a wife beater. He had a glass bottle in his hand as he walked towards them angrily. “Dad-”

The man threw the bottle on the sidewalk, shattering it to a million pieces. “You know? It all makes sense now,” the man said shoving at Theo’s chest. “This whole time I’ve been thinking of you as a son but you’re no boy. You’re nothin’ but a little bitch.-”

Liam didn’t know what came over him, but he reeled his fist back and socked the bastard in the face. “Say that again!” Liam hissed through his teeth. He wanted another reason to hit this man. He wanted to give him a piece of his mind.

Theo’s father punched Liam right in the nose mumbling something about Theo being Liam’s worthless little bitch. Everything happened so fast. There was blood. Theo was crying, trying to get them to stop fighting. Tara ran out into the driveway yelling at them to stop.

And then the police showed up and arrested Liam and Theo’s father.

**~~~**

Before the police could leave with them, Theo called Liam’s parents and told them to get there as soon as possible. He didn’t explain to them what happened, just that the police were there and that Liam had gotten in trouble before he hung up.

The police were asking him and Tara questions when they got there. Liam’s mother stood behind Theo and Tara giving both of them a comforting shoulder run. “You OK?” she asked Tara. Tara stuck her nose up, crossing her arms defensively and nodded.

Theo felt his bones shake. How was she OK? Why couldn’t he be like her? He was the boy. He was supposed to be stronger. Jenna seemed to notice his inner turmoil. “Theo, what about you?”

Tears fell down Theo’s cheeks and he shook his head. And there, he crumbled into her arms, tears pouring from his eyes, down his cheeks. He knew this was his fault. He’d been the one who kissed Liam in front of his father. He knew he was there. And he did it anyways.

**~~~**

The woman in the uniform undid Liam’s handcuffs and he stood up eagerly, ready to get out of that place. He wanted to see Theo. He wanted Theo to know that he was sorry for being violent but he was just so angry.

Liam’s parents walked in the room and he looked at them anxiously rubbing his wrists. The room was silent as they stared at each other. Nerves boiling over in Liam’s chest. Where was-

Theo walked in and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding in, pushing past his parents to wrap the other boy in a hug.

“I’m sorry-”

“I’m sorry…”

They both trailed off before they chuckled and just wrapped themselves around each other. Both of them were crying a little bit. “The hard parts over now,” Liam promised him.

**~~~**

Theo heard them talking. He didn’t know what was being said. He didn’t care much. He was just tired and scared for what would happen next. He’d been interviewed by a woman from the police department; she was very nice and understanding of his situation. He told her whatever she wanted to know.

Once the interview was over, he’d been sent out to sit with Liam on a bench. Liam didn’t say anything but he held his hand and that meant more than any words he could’ve said.

Liam’s parents were talking with the authorities about what they should do with Theo. He was a minor and, technically, his sister should have custody of him. But Tara was barely eighteen. They were trying to convince her to move in with the Geyer’s temporarily with Theo until she found a more suitable place to live.

Normally, people didn’t get the option to do such a thing, but Liam’s mother had a soft spot in her heart for Theo and Tara. She wanted them to have a decent chance.

Plus, Theo knew that if Tara decided to continue living at their home, he’d constantly be torn between her and Liam. They were easily the two most important people in his life and choosing between them seemed impossible.

Leaning into Liam’s shoulder. He didn’t have to be afraid of his dad anymore. That’s what the police had told him. His dad was going to have a court hearing and Theo and Tara would testify. There wouldn’t be any chance of him not going to prison. And it’s not like his dad had any friends to bail him out. He’d have to serve his time.

Tara’s voice brought him out of his funk and he looked up to see her tear stained cheeks giving him a sad smile. “Hey, Theo,” she said kicking his shoe with her own biting her lip as the smile started to turn a little less sad. “Looks like we’re uh… gonna go live with your boyfriend now.”

Theo felt a tear roll down his cheek and he smiled much like his sister was doing. Standing up, he let go of Liam’s hand to hug her. He buried his knows in her hair as they both cried. They weren’t sure if they cried in relief or fear of the future. Probably both. But the hard part was over now.

**~~~**

Liam was disappointed when Liam’s parents didn’t let Theo share a room with him but they insisted it was to avoid any legal issues there might be. So Theo and Tara shared the guessed room. Although, Liam’s parents and Tara looked the other way when most nights Theo slept in Liam’s bed anyways.

Mrs. Geyer spent most of her time building a relationship with Tara, teaching her how to cook, clean and figure out where she wanted to go to college. Liam had heard them the many nights they stayed up past midnight talking through things much like Liam did with Theo. It made him happy he’d been through what he could so he could be so privileged as to be the one to help him.

Almost every night, Theo would come into Liam’s room and snuggle up under the covers. Liam loved it. It made his bed so warm and cozy. He never wanted to get out of bed in the morning.

But he needed to go to school and so did Theo.

“Hey, baby,” Liam shook Theo’s shoulder gently. “Baby, you gotta wake up. We’ve got school today. I don’t wanna be late.”

**~~~**

“Baby, you gotta wake up. We’ve got school today. I don’t want to be late.”

Theo heard the voice and was immediately drawn towards it, physically shifting closer to the source. It was warm.

“Baby,” the voice lulled again.

Theo smiled against the other boy’s chest and sucked in a deep breath peeling his eyes open. He looked at the handsome guy with a horrible mess of bed hair before him. “I like it when you call me ‘baby’.”

Liam smiled and snaked his arm around him tighter, burying his nose into his neck and placing a kiss there. “You are my baby. And I love you.”

A few minutes later, they were down stairs eating breakfast with Liam’s dad. David greeted the boys happily asking them about what their day was going to look like, how they’d slept, if they slept at all. They didn’t have a very long conversation since the boys both had to take showers and get ready for school but it still meant something to both all three of them. Turns out David was just as good at getting Theo to trust him as he was with Liam.

David was the one who dropped them off at school that day. And for the first time, Theo and Liam could walk around school holding hands. Theo’s dad wasn’t going to be a problem anymore so it wasn’t a big deal if everyone knew about them.

Theo felt weird parading around school holding the Captain of the LaCrosse teams hand. It wasn’t holding Liam’s hand that felt weird though. It was doing it in front of other people. He didn’t really know how they felt about him and it made him uneasy.

**~~~**

That was until Mason ran up to them smiling. “You guys are holding hands.”

Liam nodded.

“And you’re at school,” Mason said. “In front of people.”

“Yep,” said Liam.

“...dude I’m so jealous right now,” said Mason. “I’m such a third wheel.”

Liam smirked and punched Mason in the arm. “We’re just gonna have to find you a boyfriend then,” Liam said before winking. “Go on double dates, huh?”

**~~~**

Theo and Liam sat in their class as the teacher passed back papers. Theo got his and looked at the grade. B.

He’d worked hard on that paper. He probably could’ve worked harder but Liam kept telling him not to worry too much about it. “Nice work, Theo,” the teacher said.

Theo looked up at her and smiled. His eyes returned to that B. He remembered when a B would make him shiver. He remembered begging teachers to change it and offering to do all kinds of crazy things in order to get it up to an A.

Theo felt an arm snake around his waist and pull him into a kiss on the cheek. Theo turned to face Liam with a faint smile. “You did a good job, baby,” Liam told him in a reassuring tone.

But thing was, Theo didn’t need reassuring now. Theo felt adequate. He felt like maybe it was Ok to make mistakes now. Not that he was going to stop striving for perfection. But maybe he didn’t have to strive so hard. Theo smiled at Liam. “I know.”

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think!


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